West Loveland bear visitor still roaming

LOVELAND — The bear found in west Loveland on Monday made another appearance Wednesday at a dental office on Abarr Drive, according to workers there.

"The bear wandered around the pond behind our office for a bit, crossed the street and jumped a fence headed west to Van Buren," according to an email from a worker at the office

Division of Colorado Parks and Wildlife Northeast Region Public Information Officer Jennifer Churchill said officers are doing everything they can to encourage the bear to leave on his own. She also encourages anyone who sees the bear to "haze" him to leave by making loud noises with pots and pans, airhorns or other materials. "It's a wild bear. We would like to keep it wild," she said.

Churchill said people in the area need to lock their trash cans and keep food sources kept away. The bear is not aggressive, she said, but is referred to as "nuisance bear." This one has already been relocated once, so DOW is hoping he will leave on his own; otherwise, he would have to be put down because "it will be really difficult to go back to its natural habitat, so then it presents a public safety issue."

The bear, Churchill said, is just moving around looking for food as bears do, but officers won't get involved unless it's been several days without the bear leaving or if he is found in a tree, hiding from people.